Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Summer Colds and Brush Fires

One thing on my list of "not so good things" is a nasty cold in the middle of July! Both Dick and I woke up on Saturday sneezing, sniffling and thought maybe it was just allergies, as they are pretty terrific in West Virginia. But as the day wore on, and the last three days proved, we both caught a full-fledged summer cold! There's not much sleeping going on at our house between the two of us. As I already had a doctor's appointment today to check my cholestrol, I was happy that the doctor put me on antibiotics to get rid of the uncomfortable symptoms of my cold, and hopefully within 2 to 3 days, I will be feeling much better! Dick is already feeling better!

Colds sure do tend to slow your lifestyle down! So lethargic, no energy, no sleep, aggravation to the hilt as you blow and blow and blow!!! But as I tried to see a positive from it, the time you spend trying to recuperate your energies allows you to slow down and to realize that all the "activities" of life that we plan are not the most vital aspect of life! What else better can you do as you lay in bed at night with your nose stopped up than pray for your friends and family? God allows the slow-down time to help you realize the important things of life, rather than the urgent.

Last night just as we crawled into bed and turned out the light, we got a call from my niece who is staying in our Maui home. She was describing to us a scene that sounded like a news report on TV!!! She said there was a brush fire in the field behind our house and there were 3 police cars in our front yard, 2 fire trucks and a water truck in the neighbor's yard, and a helicopter with a bucket flying overhead. She said, "Can you hear it?" I definitely heard the whirring of the props of the helicopter, the sirens, and people talking. Too close for comfort! My niece assured me that the fire was not near the house as yet, and there were enough people around to assure that the fire would not get near the house, but she said, "thought you'd want to know what's going on?!" Sleep didn't come too easily after that phone call! As there is 6 hours difference in our times, we had to wait until mid-afternoon today to learn that the fire was put out completely before dark last night, and all is well! God keeps us on our toes bringing about incidents that keep us on our knees!

Hope your last few days have been less eventful, but be alert---God sometimes needs to catch our attention in order for us to realize how we need to depend on Him for everything. He promises to be with us through the good and the bad, and we need to remember to thank Him when He teaches us important lessons and brings good out of everything that comes to us as His children!

With warm thoughts,
Sandy

Saturday, July 07, 2007

7-7-07

I just had a thrilling thought this morning. Seven is the number that indicates "completion" in God's Word. On this seventh day of the seventh month of 2007, wouldn't it be wonderful if God chose this day to complete His perfect plan and return to earth to begin His sovereign reign? WOW!

"Even so, come, Lord Jesus!"

Looking upward,
Sandy

Wednesday, July 04, 2007

Happy Fourth of July!

Remember our troops today who are fighting for the freedom we so enjoy in America today!

Enjoy your families and remember Christ, the greatest Liberator of all, who is "the Way, the Truth and the Life" and ....".the truth shall set you free."

Happy 4th of July, everyone!
Sandy

Monday, July 02, 2007

Liberty

Soon America will be celebrating its independence and freedom as a nation. We are so privileged to live in a country with so many freedoms. Do we take them for granted? Are we neglecting to enjoy the freedoms we have? Are we allowing others to take away our freedoms little by little in the courts? Do we stand up for those freedoms in the face of adversity?

It seems so many individuals are in personal bondage to something in our nation today. They are in bondage to addictions, to fear, to worry, to sexual immorality, to attitudes of bitterness and anger, to greed and self-satisfaction. Oh, how I wish they knew the Liberator! Christ alone can liberate them and free them from their bondages. It is not an outward problem, it is an inner problem of the heart! Each individual has a responsibility to go to God and ask for release from their bondages. God is waiting---he is so willing to give them the free precious gift of freedom from sin! Christ alone paid the tremendous price for our sins, but they are completely paid in full! He is ready to lovingly give every single individual freedom from those things that bind them up in knots, that make their lives unhappy and miserable. Why can't they see it? Has the world so blinded them that they can't see, or are those of us that know the freedom that Christ gives unwilling to tell them that they too can be free?

This 4th of July enjoy the celebration of America's freedom, but at the same time, remember those around you that seem to be so bound up that they can't know the freedom that Christ alone can give. Pray for them. If you have a chance, tell them that Christ offers them freedom! Freedom comes with one heart at a time turning to Christ and changing their actions and their attitudes. Do you know one person to share the freedom that Christ gives?

Celebrating the liberation only Christ can give!
Sandy

Sunday, July 01, 2007

Update on West Virginia News

Please forgive my neglect of my blog the last couple of weeks. No excuses, except that I have been enjoying our days here and sorta put myself on vacation for a bit.

West Virginia has just gone through a very long dry spell. We had no rain for over six weeks. All of the flower beds and garden seeds that were planted had a rough start as watering from a hose is just not the same as a good slow rain from heaven. The days got into the 90s with humidity almost as high. We had to forfeit our walks along the country lane because of the heat and also because of sightings of a mother bear and her cubs roaming around the area! Finally we got a good soaking rain day before yesterday which cooled off the air as well as gave the grass and plants a good long drink! Thank you, Lord!

Since the area was so dry, we have seen lots of different kinds of animals that have come down out of the woods to our little bubbling creek to get a long drink of water. Deer are a very familiar sight and we get a little perturbed as they decide while they are at the creek to come up into our yards and gardens and eat their "salads" from our newly growing plants! I finally decided that plants growing from pots and placed on our high porch is the only way to guarantee that the deer don't get their fill at our expense! We have seen turkeys and their 14 little ones walking through the fields, as well as many rabbits who find the clover to be their delight! Squirrels scamper up and down trees, as well as little baby chipmunks. The worst animal we've had to deal with is the occasional skunk that tends to walk by our house in the night and spray its lovely perfume at us while we're sleeping! We wake up choking and wondering why we were chosen for this lovely surprise!

I have found great joy in the bird life here in West Virginia. So often while I'm sitting at my computer looking out the window, a bird will light on my hanging plants or on the porch and look in the window at me as if to say hello. I've seen so many different varieties of birds this year. I particularly enjoy a redbird that visits me in the evenings, and hummingbirds that go from flower to flower on my red hanging petunias to get its sweet nectar! We have yellow finches that fly in flocks. They light in the tall grass in the field at once, and then fly off at once---quite a sight. On the negative side, we've also seen so many crows and buzzards this year. I walked one evening and suddenly saw the grass moving. I stopped dead in my tracks wondering if it was a bear or what. A giant buzzard flew right out in front of me and went up to a high tree branch and lit. Then immediately following him, was a baby buzzard following in its mothers' flight pattern! I walked by quickly praying that it would not fly down and swoop me!

We are enjoying attending the little country church where Mom grew up as a child. The Sunday School lessons have been on the minor prophets and we've learned that their warnings to the Israelites would be good warnings for us to heed in today's world as well. There is a loving spirit among the small congregation and God's Spirit is evident there!

We've taken some little excursions around the area to make sure Mom is active and gets a chance to enjoy life a little. We have gone to an arts and crafts show, a heritage days outing, a flea market, a farmers market, and even took her to see a minor league baseball game. Mom loves baseball. I remember her listening so attentively with enthusiasm to the radio in the 1950s rooting for the Dodgers to beat the Yankees! She had never attended a real live baseball game other than the neighborhood teams that played each other. She so enjoyed the whole evening, even though our team lost! It felt good to help her to fulfill a dream of hers to see a "real" game.

Being 85 years old, Mom does many things to ensure her brain keeps active, and lately with the hot weather so heavy and all you can do is stay inside in the air conditioning, she has started several jigsaw puzzles that all of us work with her. One in particular was the hardest puzzle I think I've ever had the privilege of attempting! It took us working it at least 3 weeks before we got it, but got it we did!!! Whew!

Life is different for us here in West Virginia. Our focus is on different things, and our lifestyle much slower. But it has been a joy to spend so much time with Mom and my family here. I must admit, however, I miss my son and his family in Oahu so much! Bryan graduated from 6th grade and we missed the graduation ceremony. Bryan and Bradley are learning to swim this summer and loving it and we're not there to cheer them on! I miss my church family in Maui, and our cat, Trouble. (He's missing us, too, I think). But God has us where He wants us for right now, and knowing we're within His will makes it all good!

I hope I haven't lost too many of my faithful readers. I trust that this summer has been good so far for everyone and that God is proving Himself faithful in all His ways toward you!

Many blessings to you all,
Sandy